Netflix’s penchant for recruiting a cavalcade of big names and dropping them into a broad genre film has tended to yield results that could generously be described as inconsistent, and it’s a neat summation of the company’s approach to original filmmaking that you’d be forgiven for forgetting that Wasp Network even exists.
The 1990s-set spy thriller premiered on the platform back in June of 2020, and while that’s hardly a long time ago, it feels like an eternity in the age of streaming. Even though it’s an espionage caper inspired by true events that boasts a heavy-hitting roster of recognizable stars, the movie ended up vanishing into the darkest recesses of the library in an instant.
That being said, subscribers have taken it upon themselves to breathe some new life into Wasp Network, with FlixPatrol revealing the forgotten spy story to have made a comeback on the platform’s most-watched charts. Writer and director Olivier Assayas tells the tale of the Cuban Five – intelligence agents who were arrested in Florida and convicted of espionage – but doesn’t come close to making it exciting.
Even though he’s got Edgar Ramirez, Penélope Cruz, Wagner Moura, Gael GarcÃa Bernal, and Ana de Armas at his disposal – as well as a riveting snapshot of counterintelligence history to draw on – Wasp Network could only rustle up Rotten Tomatoes scores of 40 and 36 percent. There’s a great movie in there somewhere, it’s just a crying shame that so much talent could only conspire to make something so relentlessly underwhelming and entirely disposable.
Published: Feb 1, 2023 04:11 am